Senior Cleric Raisi Registers to Run for Iran’s Presidential Election

News ID: 1378855 Service: Society/Culture

April, 14, 2017 - 17:57

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Hojatoleslam Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, the chief custodian of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, submitted his name for registration as a candidate in the upcoming presidential election slated for May.

Raisi arrived on Friday at the Interior Ministry to register as a candidate for the 12th presidential polls due to be held on May 19.

The top cleric had said that he plans to campaign on the platform of reviving the economy, combating the recession and tackling unemployment in the country.

The top cleric further promised that he will “save” the country from future crises through restructuring its executive management system.

Earlier on Friday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani applied for candidacy for the presidential election.

Among the other renowned figures applying for candidacy for the post of president on Friday was Mostafa Kavakebian, a member of the parliament.

Moreover, the reports said on Friday that a heavyweight of the “principalist” political faction, Saeed Jalili, would not participate in the presidential race.

During the previous presidential election in June 2013, Rouhani garnered 50.7 percent of a total of over 36 million votes.

Nearly 50.5 million Iranians were eligible to vote in the 11th presidential election, and the voter turnout in the polls stood at 72.7 percent.